England fans baffled as Declan Rice refuses captain’s armband against former team Ireland
ENGLAND fans were left confused after Declan Rice refused the captain’s armband against the Republic of Ireland.
The Arsenal midfielder made three senior caps for Ireland before switching his allegiance to England in 2019.
Declan Rice refused to take the captain’s armband
Declan Rice made Harry Kane remove the captain’s armband from his arm
After being welcomed by derogatory “snake” banners and loud boos from Irish fans, Rice scored England’s opener inside 12 minutes.
The Premier League star then humbly refused to celebrate after representing Ireland in his youth through his grandparents.
Rice subsequently declined the captain’s armband when skipper Harry Kane was being substituted off in the final five minutes.
The 25-year-old took a step back by asking Kane to remove the band and and pointed towards John Stones who was coming on.
The Three Lions’ top goalscorer then obliged by walking away from Rice and handing over the reigns to Stones.
On not celebrating his goal, Rice said: “Obviously my grandparents are Irish and they’ve all passed away now.
“So I did not want to be disrespectful to them. I really enjoyed myself playing for Ireland and did not think it was appropriate.”
On the rejecting the captaincy, Rice added: “Stones is also one of the more senior players so I thought Harry should give it to him.”
One England fan posted on X: “Hahahaha Declan Rice is doing too much now, he doesn’t want the armband and he didn’t celebrate after scoring.”
An Ireland fan wrote: “Declan Rice is not celebrating his goal or taking the captain’s armband from Kane.
“Stop being woke man just take it, not like we give enough of a s**t to care at this stage.”
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While another noted: “After speaking to Rice, Kane has given the armband to John Stones instead. Weird.”
Jack Grealish, who doubled England’s lead, was also met with a brutally frosty reaction from home fans inside the Aviva Stadium.
Both the Manchester City ace and Rice were targeted by boos and jeers with both having ‘betrayed’ Ireland in the eyes of fans.
Grealish, though, did not hold back after scoring, as he fist-pumped the air in front of the travelling supporters.
He also stuck his fingers in his ears in a statement to silence his critics.
GettyJack Grealish and Declan Rice scored in England’s 2-0 win in Ireland[/caption]
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